Free Web NovelChapter 224: Chapter 224: The Emperor’s Encounter, Whose Dagger
Li Yuzong announced in a high-pitched voice, "The Emperor has arrived."
Everyone in the front hall stopped their feasting and rose to welcome His Majesty.
Emperor Wu Su was dressed in a blue kesi silk robe embroidered with golden dragons amidst a pattern of seawater, clouds, and cliffs. He had come without the imperial retinue, followed closely only by Duan Mingfeng.
The Emperor had come incognito specifically to attend the Princess’s wedding banquet. Upon entering, he said casually, "You may rise. I’m just here to join the festivities, so don’t stand on ceremony."
But with Emperor Wu Su present, the atmosphere in the front hall immediately grew quiet.
The timid kept their heads down, daring not to make a sound, while the bolder ones exchanged glances or whispered to the person next to them.
Someone asked Lu Juan, "Mr. Lu, do you have any idea what His Majesty has come for?"
Lu Juan’s gaze fell upon the women’s tables on the opposite side. Seeing Ji Qingrong put down her chopsticks after only a few bites, he whispered something to the servant boy behind him.
Only then did he reply, "The Princess is celebrating her marriage. His Majesty has come to share in the joyous atmosphere."
"But the ceremony is over, and we’re halfway through the banquet. Could it be..."
The man didn’t dare finish his sentence.
Lu Juan pushed the roasted venison before him toward the man. "You should try this dish, my lord. Perhaps His Majesty grew bored in the palace and came seeking a bit of liveliness."
’What’s so lively about this? We see all the officials at this banquet every day during morning court.’
The man slapped his forehead. ’Of course.’ At the women’s tables, numerous young ladies from noble families couldn’t help but steal shy, bashful glances toward the Emperor.
’Coming here today, he’d naturally see sights he wouldn’t in the palace.’
「The Rear Courtyard」
Aside from Eunuch Li’s initial announcement, Ji Qingwu couldn’t make out what was happening in the front hall.
She only knew Emperor Wu Su himself had arrived, but at this particular time, with the wedding ceremony already concluded, his appearance was odd.
’Even if Princess Qingyun and the Prince Consort were naked in the middle of consummating their marriage, they’d have to throw some clothes on and come out to greet him.’
She glanced up and saw Mo Lingling still standing foolishly on the path that led from the rear courtyard to the front hall.
Ji Qingwu hurried over, intending to pull her aside.
She whispered, "Miss Mo, you can’t stay here. Come with me."
Mo Lingling looked up at Ji Qingwu’s sudden appearance. Her lips parted, then closed again, too bewildered to form a complete sentence.
She was clearly still processing what Li Chengxun had said to her before he left.
’The man who risked his life to save me from that den of bandits... it wasn’t him. The one who promised to help clear my father’s name... it wasn’t him either.’
’That dagger wasn’t his at all.’
’Right, the dagger...’
Mo Lingling frantically lowered her head and began to search the ground, muttering, "Where did the dagger go?"
’Who has time to worry about a dagger at a moment like this?’ Ji Qingwu stepped in front of her, reaching out to grab Mo Lingling’s arm.
But Mo Lingling, as if startled, dodged her grasp. Clad in an assassin’s garb, she suddenly leaped past the bushes and into the man-made lake.
SPLASH! She sank beneath the surface.
Fortunately, the lake was shallow. Mo Lingling quickly resurfaced, the water barely reaching her waist.
She bent over, her hands meticulously searching the lakebed.
Ji Qingwu knew how important the dagger was to Mo Lingling. Since she couldn’t stop this foolishness, she could only act as a lookout.
She watched for any movement from the direction of the bridal chamber, mapping out an escape route in advance to avoid running into Princess Qingyun when she came out to greet the Emperor.
By now, the sky had grown dark.
The dagger had sunk into the mud when it fell. Mo Lingling stirred up clouds of silt, covering herself in grime, but still hadn’t found it.
Watching from the corridor, Ji Qingwu grew anxious as well, stomping her foot and taking a small step back.
But the sensation at her back was strange. She had bumped into a solid wall. ’But this corridor is lined with round pillars and open on all sides,’ she thought. ’Where did a wall come from?’
Ji Qingwu glanced down slightly and saw that the "wall" behind her was blue, embroidered with a woven dragon pattern.
For a moment, the only sounds were the person’s breathing behind her and the splashing from the lake as Mo Lingling continued her search.
’How did Emperor Wu Su end up in the rear courtyard of the Princess Mansion?’
She cursed inwardly but turned around with a smile and curtsied again. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Emperor Wu Su’s eyes swept over her from head to toe.
Sensing his gaze lingering on her waist, Ji Qingwu glanced down as well. Her colorful sash, bordered with blue satin, was embroidered with lingzhi mushrooms and auspicious grasses—nothing particularly unusual.
’Well, there was one special thing about it: she had embroidered the design herself.’
Only then did Ji Qingwu notice Duan Mingfeng standing some distance away behind the Emperor.
’Every time the Emperor goes out incognito, the Imperial City Envoy is always with him.’
In the lake, Mo Lingling had eyes only for the dagger, completely oblivious to the two new arrivals on the shore.
Ji Qingwu spoke up. "Your Majesty, this is the Princess Mansion’s rear courtyard."
’Perhaps it would be better for us to move elsewhere.’
Emperor Wu Su’s gaze shifted back to her face, settling on her lips, which were colored with rose balm.
"I know this is the rear courtyard. What are you doing here?"
Ji Qingwu fixed her eyes on the dragon embroidery on his broad shoulder.
She explained, "I was attending the ceremony in the bridal chamber. The Princess kept me for a chat afterward, and I was just on my way to the front hall."
Emperor Wu Su tilted his chin toward the lake.
"And what is that?"
Duan Mingfeng’s back went rigid. He had seen the figure in the water the moment they entered the courtyard and had recognized her at once.
’Anyone with eyes could see what someone in that outfit was here for.’
Emperor Wu Su merely spared the lake a glance before his eyes returned to the graceful, cyan-clad figure on the corridor.
Just as they were now.
Ji Qingwu blinked. "That’s Miss Mo. Your Majesty has met her."
Emperor Wu Su asked, "And what is a Female Historian from Liangxiang Pavilion doing in the lake in the rear courtyard of the Princess Mansion, dressed all in black?"
"She, uh, she came with me. I dropped something in the lake, and she’s helping me find it."
As Ji Qingwu watched Mo Lingling thrashing about in the water, her mind raced faster than her tongue.
"She changed into those black clothes on purpose, since they’re more practical for working in the water. She’s a simple girl, you see, and doesn’t shy away from dirty or strenuous tasks."
The words had barely left her mouth when Mo Lingling straightened up in the water.
"I found it!"
’It would have been perfect,’ Ji Qingwu thought, ’if she weren’t holding up a Mystic Iron Dagger, now gleaming after being washed clean by the water.’
’Of all the times to find it, it had to be now.’
Sensing the Emperor was about to ask another question, Ji Qingwu let the corners of her lips curve up even more, gazing at him with an expression of deep affection.
Emperor Wu Su raised an eyebrow. "You dropped a dagger?"
Duan Mingfeng’s mission was to protect the Emperor. Hearing the word "dagger," he finally risked turning his head to look at Mo Lingling in the lake.
Mo Lingling’s face was splattered with mud from the bottom of the lake. She was filthy from head to toe, yet her eyes were astonishingly bright.
And as Duan Mingfeng stared at the dagger in her hand, his brow furrowed deeply.
Ji Qingwu said, "This dagger is actually for cutting Du Zhong skin. It works very quickly."
Hearing her explanation for the dagger’s use, Duan Mingfeng’s expression grew even fouler.
